National Optometry Centre

Continuing Professional Development

The Department of Optometry has run many CPD events over the last few years in order to facilitate the continuous development of Optometry professionals as well as offering the new Postgraduate Glaucoma CPD Module. Here is some more information our CPD workshops/module.

Postgraduate Glaucoma Module

This postgraduate module has been designed to provide practical skills training and updated knowledge for optometrists wishing to develop their approach to glaucoma detection in primary care.

Contact hours are split over three days, consisting of two half-day meetings, combining workshops and group tutorials, and an end of module skills assessment.

A suite of online lectures has been developed for students to work through, at their own pace, across a twelve-week semester.

Assessment will be a mixture of online continuing assessment, written coursework, and an end of module skills assessment. (Glaucoma Module Leaflet)

Optometrists wishing to inquire about the module can contact the module lead Catriona Barrett.

Checking & Prescribing Prisms

In this workshop participants are shown how to check for horizontal and vertical prism using and thus differential prism using either a manual or automatic focimeter. Participants are also shown how to measure segment drop on bifocals and thinning prism on varifocals. Solutions for anisometropia such as Fresnel prisms and various prism control lenses are discussed and demonstrated and solutions for different prismatic effects required in a spectacle prescription for near and distance viewing are discussed.

Troubleshooting PALs

In this workshop participants are given pairs of glazed progressive addition lens spectacles and a short patient scenario. They are asked to identify the problem with the spectacles that is the cause of the patient complaint. Once participants have attempted to identify the errors in as many spectacles as possible, the workshop facilitators discuss the faults with participants and demonstrate how the faults may be identified.

Advanced Slit Lamp Techniques

In this workshop delegates are shown how to use a slit lamp bio-microscope to measure the anterior chamber angle and depth, to examine the anterior chamber, the crystalline lens, the retrolental space and the anterior vitreous face. They are also shown how to decouple the illumination and observation systems of the slit lamp to allow visualisation of the cornea using sclerotic scatter illumination at a high magnification. The two workshop presenters demonstrate the techniques on delegates and will then supervise delegates as they carry out these techniques themselves.

Punctal Plugs & Lacrimal Syringing

In this workshop delegates are given a short introduction to punctal plugs and lacrimal syringing. Practitioners wishing to use plugs in practice need to be familiar with lacrimal syringing because it may be required where an intracanalicular plug has to be removed. Following the introduction the facilitators demonstrate punctal plug insertion on each other. Once the demonstration has been completed delegates have the opportunity to insert plugs on each other under supervision. (Note: delegates wishing to attend this workshop must be willing to sit as patients for fellow-delegates). Those who have dry eye and would like the punctal plug fully inserted may have this done. For all other delegates, the plugs will be partially inserted and then removed. Once the plug insertion session is complete, the facilitators demonstrate lacrimal syringing on each other and then delegates can practise the technique on each other under supervision.

Gonioscopy

In this workshop participants are given a short introduction to gonioscopy and various types of gonioscopic lenses. The facilitators then demonstrate gonioscopy before the participants practice the technique themselves. This workshop is sometimes run with volunteers to sit for the technique and sometimes participants are asked to sit for each other.

Slit Lamp Indirect Ophthalmoscopy

Participants are given an introduction to indirect ophthalmoscopy, various Volk lenses and guidelines for dilating patients. The facilitators demonstrate the technique first and then participants are given the opportunity to practise the technique themselves. This workshop is sometimes run with volunteers to sit for the technique and sometimes participants are asked to sit for each other. Participants who can already carry out slit lamp indirect ophthalmoscopy are shown how to measure vertical disc height and how to check for the Watzke-Allen sign.

Dry Eye Tests

In this workshop the following techniques are explained and demonstrated before delegates have the opportunity to practise the techniques on each other: checking for corneal and conjunctival staining using lissamine green, measuring LWE, measuring LIPCOF, checking Marx’s line, using specular reflection to view lipids in the tears, Schirmer test, phenol red thread test and Jones’ dye test.

Head Mounted Binocular Indirect Ophthalmoscopy

Participants are given an introduction to indirect ophthalmoscopy, various BIO lenses and guidelines for dilating patients. The facilitators demonstrate the technique first and then participants are given the opportunity to practise the technique themselves. This workshop is sometimes run with dilated volunteers to sit for the technique and sometimes participants are asked to sit for each other (with one eye dilated).

Interpretation of Visual Fields Results

This is a discussion group/ interactive tutorial. Participants are given general guidelines for the interpretation of fields results and then in small groups various examples of visual field plots/ results are discussed.

Interpretation of Corneal Topography Results

This is a discussion group/ interactive tutorial. Participants are given general guidelines for the interpretation of corneal topographies and then in small groups various examples of corneal topographies are discussed.

Contact Tonometry

Participants are given an introduction to Goldmann and Perkins tonometry and then the facilitators demonstrate the technique before participants carry out the technique themselves. This workshop is sometimes run with volunteers to sit for the technique and sometimes participants are asked to sit for each other (with one eye anaesthetised).

Avoiding Dispensing Pitfalls

This is a discussion group/ interactive tutorial where participants are presented with real dispensing cases which had a less than ideal management and they are asked to discuss how the dispense might have been improved.